‘Suicide Squad’ Review: A Mess, But Kinda Fun

'Suicide Squad'

Movie Rating:

2.5

You can say this about ‘Suicide Squad’: For a mediocre comic book blockbuster, it at least has a good hook and a strong cast. That was clear when it was announced and that’s what the pop-music-backed trailers promised. Clearly, that’s what got this thing rushed into production as one of Warner Bros.’ DC pilot projects.

It’s ‘The Dirty Dozen’ featuring some B- to D-List DC villains, plus The Joker to put asses in seats. Yeah, that sounds fun. Unfortunately, that also appears to be the sum total of the thought that went into this project before cameras rolled. The movie has fun scenes and fun performances, but they never amount to much more than a collection of amusing moments. There’s little of interest that links them together and barely anything resembling a plot or character arcs. It’s just a bunch of famous faces and posing and shadows and Hot Topic costumes in search of a story or purpose. That’s a shame. This could have been something memorable in an overplayed genre. Instead, it feels like a particularly long trailer for a movie that doesn’t exist.

The flick kicks off with a solid 30 minutes of character introduction scenes, each backed by a different needle drop on the soundtrack that you’ve heard in countless movies before (“Fortunate Son,” “Spirit in the Sky,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” etc.). Viola Davis plays Amanda Waller, a no-nonsense special agent who wants to assemble a team of incarcerated supervillains to do cleanup for the government that superheroes might not be able to handle. She already has the dark witch Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) doing secret agent work since she has her heart in a box. (No, really, that’s an actual plot point.) Now she wants to bring in the remarkable sharpshooter assassin Deadshot (Will Smith), Joker’s lover in crime Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), tertiary Flash villain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), scaly-skinned monster man Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), fire-spitting tattooed gangster Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and a few others who pop up and sometimes get backstories and sometimes don’t.

Waller hopes that they can be the last line of defense for the U.S. in the event of an unexpected supernatural attack. It seems impossible, but then a few CGI baddies and faceless zombie henchman and a giant ray of apocalyptic light appear in the middle of a major city. So, the Suicide Squad is formed with bombs implanted in their necks in case they refuse to comply. Oh boy! Say hello to the bad guys! Etc.

Given that the long-winded character intros are all cut together like separate music videos presenting comic book archetypes, it’s actually kind of fun. Batman (Ben Affleck) pops up in a few of them to keep it all in the family. Writer/director David Ayer strikes the right mix of shadowy, twisted visuals and self-effacing humor to sell the bleak absurdity.

Most of the performers are well cast, particularly Margot Robbie as the irrepressibly naughty and devilishly childish Harley Quinn. (Sometimes she does the voice, sometimes not. At one point, she wears the old Animated Series costume and she always captures the tone of the character). The main actors all get their roles and have enough scenes to actually develop their characters. Everyone else who appears on screen is either window dressing or a plot device, including Jared Leto’s Joker. Despite his ludicrously tattoos and tacky costumes, Leto is fine as the iconic Batman villain. He copies Heath Ledger’s voice and vamps up his acting, but essentially only appears in a handful of flashbacks and asides. He’s just sort-of there because Harley is a main character so it makes sense. You could easily cut all of the Joker scenes from this movie and not affect the main plot in any way, and Leto doesn’t get to do anything beyond overact and giggle. I guess he’s good in the role, but there’s not really enough here to properly judge.

To be honest, there’s not really much of anything in ‘Suicide Squad’ to properly judge beyond posturing and shoot-’em-ups. The evil plot that the squad must stop is a muddle bunch of mythological gobbledygook that feels like it’s mostly still sitting on a cutting room floor somewhere. It’s tied into the “New Gods” stuff that Zack Snyder is clearly building towards, but so clumsily explained that I can’t imagine anyone remembering what happened in time for ‘Justice League’. And even though this is theoretically a team-building movie with plenty of scenes of the Suicide Squad announcing that they’re a team, there’s no real sense of these individual characters making lasting connections. They’re just thrust together because the thin plot insists upon it and form a team because that’s the title of the movie. It’s pretty lazy plotting, and frankly it feels like big explanatory chunks of this movie are missing.

There has been a lot of internet chatter about reshoots and radical re-edits by panicking studio execs following the sour reception of ‘Batman v. Superman’ and the success of the goofy initial ‘Suicide Squad’ trailers. The final film sure feels like the product of excessive tampering. Individual scenes play fine, but they never quite fit together. One-liners seem awkwardly crammed-in. Action scenes are cut together at a feverish pace and there’s barely any character development at any point. Sometimes the movie feels very dark and other times it plays as a goof-off comedy. The tone never quite finds a balance or comfortable place and the story feels more like a series of diversions than anything resembling a structured narrative. Writer/director Ayer’s previous movies were sometimes messy, but never to this extent. It’s oddly sloppy for such a massive production – slickly mounted on a scene-by-scene basis, just with a script that seems to have been written on the fly as it moves along.

And yet, despite these considerable problems that are impossible to ignore, the movie is still pretty fun. It moves by quickly thanks to all the over-editing, endless pop songs, and lack of tedious character development or storytelling. The actors are clearly having a blast. Stuff blows up good, and the trashy aesthetic is kind of charming. Unfortunately, there’s no real substance here or even anything to follow beyond moment-to-moment surface pleasure. The movie is a mess, a product of too many meddling hands and not enough concrete ideas. It’s not particularly satisfying and it certainly doesn’t inspire any new confidence about a master plan over at Warner’s DC Universe.

This is a big a missed opportunity. With the addition of a cohesive plot and costumes/production design that weren’t so overbearingly and self-consciously “edgy,” this could have been a darkly humorous antidote to the Disney friendliness of the Marvel Universe. Instead, it’s just a rushed corporate product with a handful of amusing moments and performances that talented people snuck in under immense pressure and impossible deadlines.

Oh well, maybe the next WB/DC blockbuster will be better. Surely they must have learned a lesson about actually taking the time to develop a script rather than rushing along to meet a release date and… What’s that? They’ve already finished shooting the next two? God help us all…

About Philip Brown

Phil Brown loves movies too much. He rants and raves about them privately to anyone who will listen, as well as professionally for outlets like Fangoria, Rue Morgue, the Toronto Star, Now Magazine, AskMen, C&G Magazine, and anyone else who will return his emails. You can follow him on Twitter @thatphilbrown.

itjustWoRX

You think Deadpool didn’t have a ton of studio notes? Do you really believe the two X-Men supporting characters would have been in that movie at all if the studio hadn’t demanded crossover tie-ins to the franchise? I’m sure that both Deadpool and Suicide Squad probably had about an equal amount of studio interference. It’s just that one studio was smarter about it.

itjustWoRX

I suppose you’re right, but it certainly seemed that “Deadpool” got a few caveats, a strict budget, and then it was hands off from Fox.

Warner Bros. seems to have a really bad problem with their meddling. BvS was an incredible disappointment. Their new DCU is on a shaky foundation. Some (okay, a lot) blame it on Snyder…but he did a great job with “300” and the criminally underrated “Watchmen.” Now he’s simply catering to Warner after every focus group and test screening scares them into making more changes to the movies.

“Suicide Squad” had a different vibe to it from the very first leaked trailer. David Ayer created an atmosphere that seemed dark and gritty with a hint of humor (in the very little time he was given before they fast-tracked it). Then you hear about re-shoots, and whether they were planned or forced upon the film because Warner wanted MORE humor.

I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’d bet my money on a “Director’s Cut” being far superior to what’s being released this weekend. Very similar to “BvS” and its “Ultimate Cut” being universally preferred over the theatrical cut.

Patient O.T.

Of course he’s going to say that, he probably cant say other wise at this point. I’m guessing with the success (at least in my eyes) of the ultimate edition of BvS, which in turn brought a far superior film to the theatrical version, that Suicide Squad will get the same treatment, almost anyone with a brain could tell during BvS that things were really wrong with the editing and pacing, the extended edition filled in extremely important parts that should have never been cut out, the pacing was much better and the actions of the characters made far more sense, reading this review and watching/reading plenty of others, tells me the same thing happened here, its missing key components that would make this movie far more appealing and just plain better, bad editing, weird cuts, scenes that feel off…..all the same thing in BvS

Yuna

Bolo

What a pity. This was one of the few superhero movies I was actually interested in seeing, and from the sounds of the reviews they really bollocksed it up. I’ll still see it at some point, but maybe I’ll wait for the director’s cut to hit streaming.

It sounds like there were conflicting visions of this property. And I’ll admit, I’m somewhat in the middle myself. I definitely didn’t want it to be as goofy and winky as ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (even though I found that movie enjoyable) and it sounds like that’s what Warner Bros tried to retrofit it into being. On the other hand, I didn’t want it to be as ugly and joyless as Ayer’s ‘Sabotage’.

Mike Kick

Chris B

That’s exactly what I was thinking. Civil War is the only “great” movie of the summer. The reat range from from “pretty good” (Star Trek: Beyond) to “abysmal” (take your pick). It just seems like the weakest year in recent memory. I was planning on seeing this in the theatre but based on so many middling reviews I’ll wait for BD.

Chris B

It’s a great movie because it’s a great movie. Not because it fits into a formula. It’s impeccably crafted, tells a great story, has a talented cast and jaw-dropping action sequences. It’s exciting, funny and emotionally involving….It’s a great fuckin movie man! lol

Al

So says the omega brain, that runs the hive-mind. I’m glad that you’re happy to include yourself! Any movie that fits into that particular mold is impeccably crafted, has top-tier storytelling, and features jaw-dropping action sequences!!! Right? That’s what “they” all say! Any film that is produced from the Marvel formula is a GREAT FUCKIN MOVIE, Man! Keep on preaching, Brother!

Chris B

Lol, I’m not even a big Marvel fan, but the last two Cap movies have been home-runs. I love how nowadays enjoying anything that’s popular or mainstream makes you a “simpleton” or a “fanboy”.

All superhero movies are going to share commonalities, especially those set within the same cinematic universe. To it’s credit, Civil War inverts the normal Marvel 3rd-act climax and turns it on it’s head…it deviates from the “formula” people accuse Marvel of all the time.

But I digress, feel free to hate the movie as much as you want, but at least have reasons WHY.

Buntcake72

No actually Civil War had a solid plot, great acting and a good story that made sense. This film was a mess just like BVS. Marvel does not bat .1000, that’s for sure (hello Thor 2 and Avengers 2 anyone?). But if all you can say is that people who like the MCU’s films are part of some hive brain, then you should take a look inward and question your taste in movies. ESPECIALLY if you enjoyed this middling, befuddled, meandering piece of MEH.

Suicide Squad was a big ball of MEH. Not awful but nor was it memorable.

In a year from now, will you be quoting scenes from it like Guardians or Avengers (the first one)? Will you talk to your friends about “Remember when Deadshot did this?”. No, you won’t. Because it was just serviceable.

Al

What’s your excuse for such poor reading comprehension? Read my comments again. Did I ever mention Suicide Squad? Did I even insinuate that I might mention it, at some point? Next time, try to actually read AND comprehend a comment, before replying to it.

I think Al demonstrates perfectly why it’s such a shame that the DCEU movies are such dreadful messes.

There’s supposed to be a bit of friendly teasing between the DC and Marvel fans, but now that Marvel keeps pushing out hit after hit, and all of DC’s movies turn out to be turds, DC fans are turning into whiny little fanbois that must troll anything Marvel-related, to convince themselves that the latest DC-movie isn’t as horrible that everybody says it is.

At least the DC movies are still making money. With a little bit of luck, they’ll learn how to make good movies before the audience stops showing up. Proper competition would be good for Marvel. It’ll make sure they don’t start phoning in the movies.

Al

You are yet another person with reading comprehension problems, eh? Please point out one single letter that I wrote that even implied that I like Suicide Squad, or any other DCEU film.

…crickets

…crickets

My comments were only made to try to shed some light on the fact that everyone seems to universally accept that every single MCU film is the most awesome movie ever, (until the next MCU release hits, anyway).

Go back and look at some of the debates that popped up, in this very forum, when Civil War was released. It’s highly flawed. I don’t hate it. It’s perfectly decent. I had some fun with it. It has its moments. But I certainly don’t love it, and it doesn’t come anywhere near being a great or even very good film.

By the way, I still haven’t said a single word that might imply hate of all things MCU, or a single word that might insinuate that I love, like, hate, or have even seen any DCEU film (just to help you keep track).

Well, you see, there’s such a thing as context. The article is a review of Suicide Squad, and it’s not particularly positive. So, when you attack a comment that says that a Marvel movie, unlike Suicide Squad, doesn’t suck, it’s not unreasonable to infer that you’re just as annoyed about them suggesting that DCEU movies suck, as you are about the praising of Marvel movies. Especially when you sprinkle your criticism with typical DC-fanboi words and phrases, like “hive mind” and “Marvel formula”.

Also, even though I used your comment as an example of the type of comments made by whiny DC-fanbois, my comment about them doesn’t rely on you for validity. But, with your superior reading comprehension, I’m sure you already knew that.

Patient O.T.

Ryan

I liked the movie, it was enjoyable. The 3rd act is basically Ghostbusters though…which my wife also commented on (she also enjoyed the movie).

I preferred Man of Steel and BvS (as well as Guardians, which this seemed to be trying a little too hard to be at times, especially with the soundtrack). I’d probably put it up there with the latest Xmen….maybe a tad better (if for Harley’s cheeky bottoms alone!).

It was a good introduction to a lot of new potential villains. And that’s saying a lot for a comic book movie these days. Loki, Zod, (sometimes Magneto) and Lex (yes, I liked him…especially in the Ultimate cut) are the only good villains out of the many superhero movies that keep coming.

I thought the film was mostly unoffensive. Halfway through though, I started getting PlayStation 1 era fps vibes. The “heroes” would go from one shooting gallery to another, encountering a room full of enemies, all represented by the same character model. Get a few head shots, move to a new location, repeat. Otherwise, there were definitely a few good laughs, and the flashbacks were serviceable. Much like Harley herself, the film had fun attractive aspects, but ultimately was quite vexing.

Csm101

Al

I look at the MCU and DCEU the same way. If either studio makes an excellent film (‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is the best Star Wars film in 30+ years) I am pleased, and I praise it accordingly. If either studio releases middling fare (‘Iron Man 3’ is a steaming, stinking puddle of Dingo diarrhea), I am displeased, and I bash it accordingly. It doesn’t matter which studio released the film. I’m objective.

What I don’t like is how all modern comic book films are now filtered through the MCU formula, and whether or not they adhere to it. Critics don’t even see the actual film any longer. They only look at whether or not it was made from the MCU mold. A good film is a good film. A bad one is a bad one. Why everyone thinks that every comic-book/superhero/graphic novel movie has to be cut from the MCU cloth, in order to be considered “good” is utterly baffling.

Elizabeth

Maybe you could provide some examples of superhero movies you feel critics thought were”awesome” simply because they were cut from the “Marvel Formula (c)” and ones that were considered “awful” because they didn’t follow it.

Al

Let’s start with the aforementioned Iron Man 3. After that, I think we can easily point to Civil War, The Avengers 2 (not as well reviewed as the first Avengers, but double check and you’ll be shocked by the overwhelmingly positive reviews). Is that enough examples?

Second portion:

Obviously, BvS fits. It’s a lot more complex, multi-faceted, and interesting than the first Captain America film, but it doesn’t fit the mold, so it was ravaged. It’s not great, but it’s a lot better than many MCU films — Including the three that I just mentioned –that were automatically given a pass, based on the fact that their ingredients came from the MAGIC FORMULA. MoS is another one that would have automatically earned rave reviews and would have been considered the MOST AWESOME MOVIE EVER, if it would have followed the MCU formula. Let’s see, I would make the same argument for the latest X-Men, The Wolverine, and a few others. (Please remember to be conscientious about comprehension. I’m not saying that these films are superb; merely that they are fitting examples that fulfill the second part of your question. Don’t start arguing that they aren’t as good as some of the best MCU offerings. You’ll only be preaching to the choir).

Chris B

B vs S isn’t a good movie dude, granted neither is the first Captain America but c’mon. All B v S does is make Nolan’s films look even better than they already did. Speaking of Nolan, there goes your MCU theory, because critics and audiences alike loved the shit out of all of them (ok maybe a little less when it comes to TDKR), but they’re DC properties and are the best comic book movies ever.

Al

Nolan started his Dark Knight trilogy long before every comic-book film had to be made from the MCU mold, in order to be considered good. Furthermore, TDK trilogy was never trying to be part of any “Cinematic Universe.” However, as you pointed out, by TDKR, most critics and audiences could only whine, and point out how “IT’S NOT FUN LIKE THE AVENGERS!!!” (I don’t think it’s nearly as good as BB or TDK, just to set the record straight, but that’s not the point. The point is that most complaints were only about how it wasn’t SUPER AWESOME, like The Avengers). So, by the close of TDK trilogy, the MCU formula was already making its mark. TDKR wasn’t allowed to fly or fall, based on its own merits (or lack thereof). It was the first Nolan film that had to be screened through the MCU formula to see if it passed or failed.

And by the way, you can’t just come out and say “BvS is not a good movie, Dude.” That’s your opinion. And when it comes to this particular debate, it simply doesn’t matter. This debate is about whether or not you would consider it a “good movie, Dude” if it was made from the Marvel mold. As you are no doubt part of the hive-mind, I believe that you would.

Chris B

i actually liked MOS a lot and it ain’t part of the MCU “mold” you keep referring to. I thought they did a really good job of updating a character who was invented in the ’30s for pete’s sake. I don’t think B v Superman is a bad movie because it doesn’t follow the marvel formula. I just think it’s a bad movie because it’s a joyless, dour, nihilistic, sloppy, confused, disjointed mess of a film. With unlikable, asshole superheroes and a dream-sequence that elicited audible laughter from the audience. I know it’s my opinion but that’s practically the reason that the internet was invented, for us to spout them off.

Civil War is basically the opposite of all those shitty things I just mentioned. Molds or formulas be damned!

Phil

Whew! You’re big on that “hive mind” thing, huh? Here’s something that’s going to blow your mind: there are now enough people sticking by the DCU movies despite their glaring flaws and pissing on Marvel for using formulas (as if that’s anything new in Marvel or superhero stories in general) out of some tiresome and decades old brand loyalty DC VS Marvel marketing strategy for them to be considered of hive mind as well….Whooooooaaaaaa Duuuuuuuuuder…..ain’t that deep?

Ryan

I thought BvS was a fantastic movie (Ultimate edition). Take away the silly Justice League intros, and I literally have no issues with it. And thanks to Hans Zimmer, it has a near perfect score, as well (which is one of my personal most important parts of any big movie)

Elizabeth

Maybe you could ratchet down your massive attitude by about 100 points. You’re the one claiming that there’s a “Marvel Formula” all critics are judging superhero movies against. I’m trying to understand YOUR point of view. Should I guess at what YOU think are movies that have been unfairly judged on that criteria? How much attitude would you give me if I picked the wrong movie? If you want to have an actual discussion, lose the hostility. I asked a simple question.

The DC Cinematic Universe is a mess. DC is desperate to catch up to Marvel but isn’t really willing to do the hard work. They didn’t trust a Man of Steel to Stand on it’s own so it became Batman v Superman with a bunch of other characters thrown into the blender. Sometimes a movie gets a bad review because it’s a bad movie, not because of some conspiracy. I didn’t bother to see BvS because I didn’t care for MoS and it’s tedious over long ending of Supes and Zod throwing each other through buildings (and Superman not giving a crap about all the people that were dying from the carnage). I definitely think Zac Snyder was the wrong choice to helm the ship.

As for Marvel, I’m tired of watching the “good guys” fight each other for half the movie. Avengers. Avengers 2. Civil War. And I think Disney/Marvel is overdoing it with superhero movies and I think they’re probably on their way to doing it with Star Wars as well.

Al

See… This was my point. You didnt ask that question because you literally couldn’t think of a single example. You asked that question to start a fight. One that I’m not interested in getting into. I never said that the DCEU is not a mess. Did I? I also didn’t say anything that disputed a single word from your second paragraph.

You don’t say anything here that disputes my claim that modern comic-book/superhero/graphic novel films must be cut from the same cloth as any MCU film, in order to be considered “good.”

I’m not going to argue with your opinion about MoS. Why would I? I’m not going to change it. However, love it or hate it, you can’t deny that the film made an attempt to do something unique and never-before-seen with that particular character, and it strays as far from the MCU mold as possible. Therefore, nobody even bothered to consider whether or not it was of high quality. It was just “grimdark”… and INNOCENT PEOPLE GOT KILLED… and SUPERMAN KILLED SOMEONE!!!… and THERE WEREN’T ANY EMO, CONFLICTED SUPERHEROES… and THERE WEREN’T ANY “CLEVER” and “HILARIOUS” quips from said emo, conflicted superheroes… and THERE WEREN’T ANY SUPER AWESOME SUPERHEROES THAT “GENUINELY ENJOY EACH OTHER’S COMPANY… and the list goes on and on and on… Again, it didn’t feature all of these formulaic ingredients contained within the MCU mold, so it’s “bad.” If it would have featured all of these MUST HAVE ingredients, and it would have been made from the MCU mold, I believe that critics would have been perfectly okay with all of the complaints that were levied against it. In fact, those things would have been considered positives. They would have satisfied the emo, conflicted superhero aspect that all MCU films must contain. (See: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 3, Captain America, Civil War, The Avengers, The Avengers: AoU).

Look, clearly you’re not part of the hive-mind. I like what you say about “the good guys fighting each other, during the first half of the movie.” That alone makes me know that you’re not blinded by the magic formula. But c’mon, let’s not pretend that everything I’m saying isn’t true, at least to some extent. If you can’t admit that every single MCU film shares many of the same elements and follows a very similar formula, I don’t understand how that’s possible.

Obviously we’ve reached a point where critics and audiences have bought in. When a new comic-book film comes out, it either fits the bill of the MCU formula and has everyone praising it, or it doesn’t, and everyone bashes it. We’re a long way past whether or not many of these films are actually great or not. It simply boils down to if they’re cut from the MCU cloth, or they’re not. I appreciate the comic-book films that aren’t made from the MCU mold, even if I don’t think they’re very good.

When Batman was released in 1989, it was met with nearly universal praise, set the opening weekend record, and ended up being the 4th biggest film of all time domestically. If that same film is released in 2016… Well, it’s not cut from the MCU cloth. All anyone would focus on is the JOKER WITH A PRINCE FETISH and… REALLY? HE CREATED A FORMULA THAT GIVES PEOPLE A PERMANENT SMILE and… You get the idea, I don’t need to go on.

I can say the same thing about Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. In 2002, it set the opening weekend record, was met with universal praise, and ended up being the 4th biggest movie of all time domestically. If the same exact film is released in… Oh… What’s that? The same exact film was released in 2012?! And it was met with mixed-negative reviews, debuted to lower opening weekend — despite inflation, 3D, IMAX, PLF — and fizzled out at around $150 million less. Well, it wasn’t made from the MCU mold, right? What do you expect?

Csm101

The Amazing Spider-Man being rebooted in 2012 and not being as successful doesn’t have anything to do with the “Marvel formula”. You said it, they made something too close to the same movie and most audiences didn’t want to see another origin story told, but they got it anyway. For the record I did enjoy it and I am a big Spider-Man fan so there you go. The fact that Spider-Man 3 was so bad also left a bad taste in a lot of viewers mouths and the reboot seemed too soon, which also didn’t help. I don’t think any of those factors had a thing to do with the Marvel formula.

Csm101

On top of that, the MCU wasn’t really a thing yet. The Avengers was the product of building up for the previous four years and it payed off handsomely, but before that, it still wasn’t what you’re calling it now.

Pedram

I thought it was a fun enough movie. Not great, and killing the same baddie got a bit boring after a while, but HQ/Joker/Deadshot saved it for me and kept it enjoyable (and quotable). It really needed more HQ and Joker though (especially Joker; I really liked Leto’s portrayal of him).

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